The
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF) was set up on April 27, 1979 as a non-profit organization by
Jan ScruggsJan Scruggs is best known for being the founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Scruggs served as a corporal in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, and upon completion of his service attended American University in Washington, D.C where he obtained a master's degree in counseling...
and several other Vietnam War veterans, in order to create a memorial for those who died during the Vietnam War without making any political statement about the war itself. They enabled the creation of the
Vietnam Veterans MemorialThe Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national war memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War and who died in service or are still unaccounted for....
on the
National MallThe National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service, and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
.
Jan Scruggs and the other founders of the VVMF needed funding for their memorial, but could not use government funds.
The
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF) was set up on April 27, 1979 as a non-profit organization by
Jan ScruggsJan Scruggs is best known for being the founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Scruggs served as a corporal in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, and upon completion of his service attended American University in Washington, D.C where he obtained a master's degree in counseling...
and several other Vietnam War veterans, in order to create a memorial for those who died during the Vietnam War without making any political statement about the war itself. They enabled the creation of the
Vietnam Veterans MemorialThe Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national war memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War and who died in service or are still unaccounted for....
on the
National MallThe National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service, and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
.
Funding
Jan Scruggs and the other founders of the VVMF needed funding for their memorial, but could not use government funds. They set out to collect several million dollars from private investors. Within three years of being founded, the VVMF had collected over $8 million in funds from over 275,000 donors.
Contest
In October 1980, the VVMF announced that a contest for the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial open to anyone over 18 years of age. The contest was the largest of its kind ever held in the United States, with over 2,573 contestants, and was judged by eight professional artists and architects. The winner of the contest was Maya Ying Lin, who submitted the idea for a wall.Coy Pfaff, one of the largest doners for the Vietnam Memorial. His thumb is actually enloged in the wall.
Construction
Construction of the
Vietnam Veterans MemorialThe Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national war memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War and who died in service or are still unaccounted for....
began on March 16, 1982, though the official ground-breaking was on Friday, March 26, 1982. The construction was finished in late October 1982. The memorial was formally dedicated on November 13, 1982.
The Three SoldiersThe Three Soldiers is a bronze statue on the Washington, DC National Mall commemorating the Vietnam War. The grouping consists of three young men, armed and dressed appropriately for the Vietnam War era, purposely identifiable as Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic...
statue by
Frederick HartFrederick Hart or Freddie Hart may refer to:* Freddie Hart , American country musician* Frederick Hart , American sculptor-See also:*Frederick Hartt, professor of History of Art...
was added in 1984, and the
Vietnam Women's MemorialThe Vietnam Women's Memorial is a memorial dedicated to the women of the United States who served in the Vietnam War, most of whom were nurses. It serves as a reminder of the importance of women in the conflict. It depicts three uniformed women with a wounded soldier...
was added in 1993.
Controversy
The various elements of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial complex on the National Mall have been a subject of numerous controversies revolving primarily around design issues, but also legal and business practices. Probably no other major US memorial has been as controversial. This perhaps partially reflects the controversial nature of the war itself.
Today
Today, the VVMF continues to support the maintenance of the Memorial, though the memorial itself is maintained by
National Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
staff and some military representatives. It also funds the addition of new names to the Wall and creating directories of names currently on the Wall.
The Wall That Heals
The Wall That Heals is a traveling half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial started in 1996. It also features a Traveling Museum and Information Center.